His 1999 solo album, Euphoria Morning, was the first of five spanning 16 years. His last, Higher Truth, reached the US top 20, following its release in 2015. He toured with Linkin Park and Aerosmith in the late 2000s, and played Hyde Park as recently as 2012.

Cornell also made a foray into film soundtrack composition, writing the Casino Royale theme You Know My Name and The Keeper, which he won a Golden Globe nomination for and appeared in the film Machine Gun Preacher.